I Am, We Are!  |  Monday 30 July 2012 14:09

An SABC1 documentary series commemorating women’s month 2012

Date: Tuesday 07 August 2012

Time: 21h00

Episodes: 4

Duration: 1 hour

Events are hosted in their honour. Public places are emblazoned with their names.  Organizations are founded because of their existence. These are stories of origins & originators, leading ladies, women ambassadors and family custodians.

Without them HIS story would poorly lack HER story.

‘I AM, WE ARE!’ is a four-part, 4-hour documentary series, produced by Airtime Artists, for SABC 1, to commemorate women’s month 2012.

Every Tuesday in August between 9-10pm catch an appointment with historic women, champions of gender parity, women with a worldview and females heading households.

I AM WE ARE is a visual diary & story about South African women milestones in an international agenda – this is a midpoint between the individual within a collective.

For the first time we highlight the thought-life of femaleness by actualising it with factual experiences of women’s everyday live/s.

This is not a women’s story told to validate the narrative of females by juxtaposing them in a man’s world. The documentary is not a political gender agenda; aside with struggle narrative or equality activism, this is not a campaign for inclusion versus exclusion – enough with social commentary or the so-called ‘women issues’ that are far too common or fatigued. The documentary is not about discrimination, the plight of women, abuse, rape, etc. Although important to highlight as they are; these do not dictate our focus area/s.

‘I AM WE ARE’ acknowledges the roots of women’s origins as originators. We debate gender parity through leading ladies occupying the echelons of power. Women living with disabilities are mainstreamed as ambassadors and commentators through their work in the arts. We open and close the documentary series with a family portrait of mother/s and daughter/s by zooming in on women’s legacy and juxtaposing past versus present times.

Episode 1 ‘origins and originators’ (7 August 2012)

A 100-year photo-essay documentation of South African female firsts by local women with an international agenda. These are a select few anecdotes of little-known factual narrative about well-known women to magnify footnotes into headlines.

o    Neo Ntsoma & Bongiwe Gumede – Photographers

o    Charlotte Maxeke – Mother of Black Freedom

o    Patricia de Lille – Cape Town Mayor

o    Dr Mary Malahlela-Xakana – first Black-female medical doctor

o    Helen Suzman – Parliamentarian

o    Helen Jospeh – Activist

o    Angie Motshekga – ANCWL President

o    Mary Burton – Black Sash Trustee

o    Penny Coelen – South Africa’s one & only Miss World

o    Phumzile Mlambo-Ngquka – former SA Deputy President

o    Nadine Gordimer – Africa’s only female Nobel laureate in literature

o    Phethiwe Matutu & Mamokgethi Setati – Mathematicians

o    Vuyo Mahlati – President of IWFSA

o    Nathalie du Toit – Athlete

o    Lulama Mokhobo – first female SABC GCEO

Episode 2 ‘leading ladies’ (14 August 2012)

A roundtable meeting of leading ladies to review gender parity as interpreted by Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola representing the academy, Advocate Thuli Madonsela at the legal fraternity and Ipeleng Mkhari from the business front.

Episode 3 ‘women ambassador’ (21 August 2012)

Profiles the worldview and experiences of female artists living with disabilities. Through their work and/or thought-life we incidentally get a glimpse of their commentary as South African women ambassadors. This story features: Shelley Barry a paraplegic filmmaker / poet, Rhulani Baloyi a blind journalist, Mbali Nkosi Miss Deaf 2011.

Episode 4 ‘family custodian’ (28 August 2012)

A family portrait of female-headed households and the work-life legacy being inherited or passed down by mothers to their daughters i.e. women as family custodians. The film stars: media darlings KG & Dineo Moeketsi, global citizens Thandiwe January-Mclean & Naima Mclean plus Kholeka, a professional nurse, and her daughter i.e. doctor Vuyelwa Baba.

Overall, the documentary series is appointment TV viewing that uses history to highlight her story. ‘I AM, WE ARE!’ is a juncture for humans or society to introspect, reflect and project on the trajectory of women’s lives within our motherland; the earth I know is a woman.

Issued by

SABC1 Publicity

Phillip Matome Mabitsela

Tel: 011 714 6296

Fax: 011 714 6232

Email: mabitsep@sabc.co.za

Web: www.sabc1.co.za